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Engineers, doctors and lawyers are some of the highest paid professionals in the world.
While there is a general salary for lawyers, the pay for doctors and engineers varies greatly by specialty.

Salaries for Doctors

As a general rule, doctors earn some of the highest salaries in the world. Anesthesiologists are the top earners with an annual mean wage of US$232,800, while surgeons are in second place with US$230,540. Obstetricians and gynecologists make US$216,760, while oral and maxillofacial surgeons are the highest paid dental surgeons at US$216,440. When including other specialists, such as orthodontists, family and general practitioners, psychiatrists and prostodontists, doctors occupy almost half of the top twenty highest paid salaries. Podiatrists were the lowest-paid specialists, with an annual mean wage of $132,470.

Salaries for Engineers

At US$147,470, petroleum engineers are the highest paid engineers. Nuclear engineers earn US$107,140, while aerospace engineers are the third highest engineering specialists, earning US$104,810 annually. Computer hardware engineers make US$103,980, while chemical engineers earn US$102,270. The rest of the engineering specialists, such as marine engineers, electronics engineers, electrical engineers and biomedical engineers, earn less than US$100,000. The salaries for materials engineers, environmental engineers, mechanical engineers, civil engineers and industrial engineers are under US$90,000.

Salaries for Lawyers

Lawyers at US$130,880, they are paid less than most doctors, but more than all of the engineers – except petroleum engineers. Most researchers does not differentiate between types of lawyers, so this salary covers various specialties, such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, government counsels and corporate or in-house counsels. It also covers legal aid lawyers, environmental lawyers, tax lawyers, intellectual property lawyers, family lawyers, securities lawyers and litigation lawyers.



 

Job Outlook

Researchers projects a 24-percent increase in demand for physicians and surgeons through 2020, which is faster than the 14-percent average growth rate predicted for other occupations. However, the demand for lawyers is only projected to increase by 10 percent through 2020. The job outlook for engineers varies by specialty. Biomedical engineering is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the world with a 62-percent growth rate through 2020. Civil and petroleum engineering jobs will increase by 19 percent and 17 percent, respectively. On the other hand, nuclear engineers will only experience a 10-percent growth increase, while materials engineers, mechanical engineers and computer hardware engineers will only see a 9-percent increase. Chemical engineers, electrical engineers and electronics engineers can expect a 6-percent growth rate, while aerospace engineers will only see a 5-percent growth rate.